canadian thinking of getting married on a "visit" to usa

[marymaria 0]

I used to live in Atlanta on a work visa for two years. I moved back to Canada this summer and now my boyfriend and I are doing long-distance. I have visited him in atlanta almost monthly. How hard will it be for us to get married on one of my visits there? Would this make it hard for me to file papers because I came with the intent to visit?

Has anyone done this? What happened?

[Wyld Blu 35]

I used to live in Atlanta on a work visa for two years. I moved back to Canada this summer and now my boyfriend and I are doing long-distance. I have visited him in atlanta almost monthly. How hard will it be for us to get married on one of my visits there? Would this make it hard for me to file papers because I came with the intent to visit?

Has anyone done this? What happened?

Coming on a visitor visa, with the ultimate intention of getting married is illegal and will have the potential of having you banned for 10 yrs. Do you really want to risk that? It is possible to come, get married and then leave, file for your CR1 and come the legal way. People have come, gotten married and adjusted status, but if that was the real intention of the visit, you are taking a huge risk.

-Blu-(JMO)

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

No question, your best bet would be to go the K-1 route.

There's actually a discussion about intent down in the Canada forum right now...

While it may be a non-issue, so long as you have strong ties to Canada and proof of your intention to return after your marriage (until a spousal visa gets obtained, interim visits notwithstanding), the safest method would be filing for K-1, since it allows you to be together and able to work after approval.

You could simply get married and go the CR-1 route...but again, it all comes down to the border guard at point of entry, and your intention to return and file for that visa after marriage.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

[Wyld Blu 35]

No question, your best bet would be to go the K-1 route.

There's actually a discussion about intent down in the Canada forum right now...

While it may be a non-issue, so long as you have strong ties to Canada and proof of your intention to return after your marriage (until a spousal visa gets obtained, interim visits notwithstanding), the safest method would be filing for K-1, since it allows you to be together and able to work after approval.

You could simply get married and go the CR-1 route...but again, it all comes down to the border guard at point of entry, and your intention to return and file for that visa after marriage.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

This is not entirely true. With the K1, you STILL have to be in your original country until approval. After that, you have to adjust status and wait for your EAD (possibly 2-3 months) to be able to work. With the CR1, you can come here after approval and work immediately. PLEASE look at the guides. They will help you decide the best visa to apply for.

-Blu-

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Coming on a visitor visa, with the ultimate intention of getting married is illegal and will have the potential of having you banned for 10 yrs.

This is where careful wording is important: coming on a visitor visa (or for us Canadians, with no visa at all) with the intention of getting married is NOT illegal or fraudulent. It IS fraudulent if you enter the U.S. without telling the border guard of your intention and/or choose to STAY in the U.S. without going the preferred channel of CR-1 / K-3.

Getting married, staying and adjusting status is possible...but very, very risky.

The safest bet is to either go the K-1 route or CR-1 route. Just remember that to do the latter, you will generally need to prove strong ties to Canada and an intent to return shortly after the wedding.

This is not entirely true. With the K1, you STILL have to be in your original country until approval. After that, you have to adjust status and wait for your EAD (possibly 2-3 months) to be able to work. With the CR1, you can come here after approval and work immediately. PLEASE look at the guides. They will help you decide the best visa to apply for.

Exactly. I was suggesting that she wait to get married AFTER she received the K-1 visa.

This and the CR-1 are both valid options. Like you said, looking at the guides will show the best option for her and her fiance.

[Wyld Blu 35]

Coming on a visitor visa, with the ultimate intention of getting married is illegal and will have the potential of having you banned for 10 yrs.

This is where careful wording is important: coming on a visitor visa (or for us Canadians, with no visa at all) with the intention of getting married is NOT illegal or fraudulent. It IS fraudulent if you enter the U.S. without telling the border guard of your intention and/or choose to STAY in the U.S. without going the preferred channel of CR-1 / K-3.

Getting married, staying and adjusting status is possible...but very, very risky.

The safest bet is to either go the K-1 route or CR-1 route. Just remember that to do the latter, you will generally need to prove strong ties to Canada and an intent to return shortly after the wedding.

I stand corrected. I MEANT to add that! LOL..If you come on a visitor visa with the intent to marry and STAY after being married...that is illegal. Anyone can come, get married and go home.

Thank you for the correction.

-Blu-

[Boiler 44,858]

Come and visit

Get married

Give it a while and you may decide to stay and adjust

No harm in a one off consultation with an Immigration Lawyer, a Canadian dollar to a US dollar says that is what they will suggest.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

No offense, but I honestly can't think of worse advice than the above post.

It's such a big risk. When you go to adjust status, how are you going to prove that you weren't intending on staying there after marriage?

Six more months of periodic visits is less of a price to pay than the potential of a ten year or permanent ban.

[luv2uallday 1]

I used to live in Atlanta on a work visa for two years. I moved back to Canada this summer and now my boyfriend and I are doing long-distance. I have visited him in atlanta almost monthly. How hard will it be for us to get married on one of my visits there? Would this make it hard for me to file papers because I came with the intent to visit?

Has anyone done this? What happened?

have two words for you

VISA FRAUD

do it the honest way like everyone else.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I used to live in Atlanta on a work visa for two years. I moved back to Canada this summer and now my boyfriend and I are doing long-distance. I have visited him in atlanta almost monthly. How hard will it be for us to get married on one of my visits there? Would this make it hard for me to file papers because I came with the intent to visit?

Has anyone done this? What happened?

have two words for you

VISA FRAUD

do it the honest way like everyone else.

No...what the original poster is asking is NOT visa fraud, so long as she intends to leave the country and file for CR-1 status afterwards. Coming into the U.S. to get married is NOT fraudulent. Coming into the U.S. to get married and stay in the States without status IS visa fraud.

Some of the other suggestions in this thread point to visa fraud, but that's NOT what the OP seems to be intending.

[rsn 135]

It's such a big risk. When you go to adjust status, how are you going to prove that you weren't intending on staying there after marriage?

You will not be asked to prove this. There is case law which is even cited in the USCIS Adjuticator's field manual that outlines this. You are making assumptions based on feelings, not facts.

• Matter of Cavazos , 17 I. & N. Dec. 215 (BIA, 1980) . In the absence of other adverse factors, an application for adjustment by an immediate relative should generally be granted in the exercise of discretion notwithstanding the fact that the applicant entered as a nonimmigrant with a preconceived intention to remain.

• Matter of Ibrahim , 18 I. & N. Dec. 55 (BIA, 1981). The benefits of Matter of Cavazos , supra , are limited to immediate relatives, and an application for adjustment by a fifth preference immigrant with a preconceived intention to remain is properly denied in the exercise of discretion.

[Boiler 44,858]

No offense, but I honestly can't think of worse advice than the above post.

It's such a big risk. When you go to adjust status, how are you going to prove that you weren't intending on staying there after marriage?

Six more months of periodic visits is less of a price to pay than the potential of a ten year or permanent ban.

You don't, unless you are stupid it will never come up.

It is by far the most popular route, beats the K's etc hats down.

[Matt&Cui 0]

:wacko: ^^^^ uh

[Revenesque 2]

No offense, but I honestly can't think of worse advice than the above post.

It's such a big risk. When you go to adjust status, how are you going to prove that you weren't intending on staying there after marriage?

Six more months of periodic visits is less of a price to pay than the potential of a ten year or permanent ban.

You don't, unless you are stupid it will never come up.

It is by far the most popular route, beats the K's etc hats down.

Um....wouldn't that make you an illegal alien?

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

No offense, but I honestly can't think of worse advice than the above post.

It's such a big risk. When you go to adjust status, how are you going to prove that you weren't intending on staying there after marriage?

Six more months of periodic visits is less of a price to pay than the potential of a ten year or permanent ban.

You don't, unless you are stupid it will never come up.

It is by far the most popular route, beats the K's etc hats down.

By "stupid" do you mean "honest"? So what is a person going to tell the border guard when entering? "Yes, I'm planning on getting married, then aim to file for adjustment of status once I do." Do you think they'll go for that? I highly doubt it. And saying anything else would be lying, if marriage without returning to Canada IS the intent.

Like it or not, using Adjustment of Status like you describe is a very risky loophole that can result in a ban from the country. There are legitimate uses of the Adjustment of Status routes, to be sure...but what you describe isn't one of them. There's a reason why CR-1 and the K visas exist. Do they take a lot of processing time? Yes. But they're also as legitimate as you can get, if you follow the rules.

From what the initial poster of this thread indicates, either the CR-1 or K-1 option should work fine, without ANY undue concern over fraud or legality.